From the NY Post: Harsher Punishment for Crimes in Parks?
“Assemblyman Joe Lentol (D-Brooklyn) said his proposed “Crime Free Parks Law” is needed to ensure playgrounds and other green spaces remain “sanctuaries” … there’s just too much parkland for cops and peace officers to cover.
“Raising the penalties specifically in parks is the best deterrent to drive down park crime …[the] bill is modeled after the federal “Drug-free school zone” law that increases penalties for drug-related crimes around schools….
Lentol penned the bill at the request of the city’s parks enforcement patrol [PEP] officer union whose 400-person workforce he says is far too small to cover … 30,000 acres of parkland…..the union is pushing the bill partly in response to problems involving rouge vendors pushing tourism trips near Battery Park City.”
“…[Former NYC Parks Commissioner] Benepe ….doesn’t think the number of deputized peace officers on patrol make much of a difference to violent crimes, as those are still the purview of the NYPD.”
Parks do need more help. We continue to believe the best deterrent for negative usage in parks is to anchor parks with positive, robust use. Neither the Police nor PEP, will ever have enough officers to be everywhere crime might happen. But if we create hubs of resiliency centers, youth meeting sites, resources for the homeless, and community meeting space: beehives of activity – we deter crime, we have more ‘eyes on’ and we can offer to those who might feel pulled to a lousy use of park space towards something more interesting instead.